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We had a killing frost last weekend. We were away, of course (the theme for 2015, it appears, is “Away“), this time in Bucks County, PA (with a quick side-trip to Hackettstown, NJ to see our friend Joe’s new brewery, Man Skirt Brewing – you should go!) to visit friends. Morning temps dipped below freezing there as well, and we woke up to bright blue skies, brisk wind, and a touch of frost on the grass. I knew this frost was coming: my […]

I picked up another pig CSA from Millstone Farm a couple of weeks ago, and with it came a teeny-tiny pork butt roast – less than 2 pounds! Typically when you get a pork shoulder from one of these heritage breed pigs, they are massive: 5 – 8 lbs, bone-in and with a layer of fat that could choke, well, a pig. I’m often too lazy to break these suckers down (or to wait the couple of days it takes […]

Did I mention that I’ve got a lot of pork? Yes, yes I do. And I’m trying to make some room in the very stuffed chest freezer for chicken stock, bell peppers, pumpkin purée; the last put-ups of the season, really, before the snow flies. One good way to clear out a chunk of freezer real estate is to cook a roast. “Fresh” ham is pork from the leg, but not cured or smoked (and hence not pink) like a […]

This year I joined my first meat CSA: in the spring, I paid for a portion of a pastured, heritage breed pig from Millstone Farm in Wilton, CT. They raised up our pigs all summer, and in August (conveniently while I was still in California) Tai went to the farm and picked up lots and lots of pork. And by lots, I mean lots: shoulder and fresh ham and roast and cutlets and bacon and sausages galore. And, of course, […]

So, here’s how this works: it’ll be sunny & 70 degrees for a week, I’ll make these fantastic, killer, hella-good whisky & smoked chile-marinated pork kebabs, then on the first grey, drizzly, chilly, raw day, the first day in weeks that you don’t want to grill, I’ll tell you about them. On a Sunday afternoon. When the recipe requires an overnight marinade. Oh, and I’ll include a bunch of ingredients you probably can’t find. Sound good? All indications to the […]

Spring has officially sprung in New York: buds are out on the trees, forsythia is in bloom, peepers are filling our twilights with their song, and I found rhubarb and ramps at the farmer’s market over the weekend. Even better than peepers & ramps, Spring has brought Miss Kate back to the ‘hood, with canning classes last weekend in Coventry, demos in Manhattan this weekend, and a few days of relaxing Chez Local Kitchen in between. I had the good […]

I have issues, it would appear, with ground meat. Of the 500-odd recipes on this site, exactly one contains ground meat. It’s not something I’ve really noticed, but when I got around to thinking about this month’s Cook The Books (very late in the day, natch), it reared its ugly head. Because, you see, I wanted to participate: but I had not found time to scope out my tiny local library on the (extremely) off-chance that they would have Andrea […]

Have you ever had tepary beans? Apparently, once upon a time, they were an important food source for Native Americans in the American Southwest, and the history of their use dates back over 6,000 years in Mexico. Yet, until recently, I had never heard of the tepary bean (whose name seems to derive from t’pawi, Papago Indian for “it’s a bean”) and without Rancho Gordo, I probably would not have been able to find them. Tepary beans are drought-resistant, native […]

Now that St. Patrick’s Day is safely behind us, I can talk about this dish that has cabbage, lots of green vegetables, and pinkish meat, without it having anything to do with traditional Irish boiled dinner. A head of bok choi (frozen last Spring and unearthed from the depths of the chest freezer), a few farmer’s market finds, some leftover rice and the last of the pork spare ribs made for a quick, easy, yet very satisfying lunch. According to Food & Wine, pork […]

Ribs: they’re such a weekend, laid-back, backyard barbecue sort of thing, aren’t they? I mean, they roast all day long, then you coat them in a sticky glaze, fire them up, and wash them down with warm cornbread, cold beer, and more than a few clean napkins. Still, it’s hard to think of a better reason for ribs-on-a-Tuesday than 70 degrees in March, no? You might just have to do it. And if you suddenly (cough, cough) are feeling just […]

I am an ornery cuss. Not only do I give you a hearty, wintry, braise-all-day-long meat & bean stew on a 60-degree Saturday in January, but I got dozens of great black bean ideas from you folks following my call for inspiration on the Facebook page, yet I ignored them all to try feijoada. Like I said: ornery. (Which must always be pronounced “orn-ree” for maximum authenticity.) Feijoada is a traditional meat and bean stew: according to Hank Shaw, black beans […]

As if rhubarbaritas weren’t reason enough, I’m here to give you another excuse for squirreling away as much seasonal rhubarb as you can get your paws on: Crispy Pork with Rhubarb Sauce. The recipe was somewhat loosely adapted from this one by Jamie Oliver, who, now that I have made two of his recipes, I am declaring a genius: this dish is that good. A not-very-exciting cut of pork (he used pork belly, while I had a pound of Flying […]

Earlier this year, when I was busily turning winter’s citrus into marmalades and jams, I lamented to Shae that I was a bit disappointed with my first foray into Meyer lemons. “I mean, they are nice enough,” I said, “but I don’t really see what all the fuss is about. I keep thinking I would like them better if they were more, well, lemony.” Shae responded that Meyers are quite soft-skinned and not as hardy as other citrus fruits, so they lose […]

Vaquero beans are so beautiful, I wish I had photographed some for you before I soaked them. They do, however, maintain their lovely markings even after cooking, along with their shape and a toothsome texture. This is a pretty classic bean stew: tomatoes, sausage, aromatic vegetables and a little cilantro or parsley to finish things off. Truly, any bean will work in this recipe, so why not take the opportunity to explore an heirloom varitety that you’ve never tasted? Rancho […]

With all these zucchini, eggplant, scallions and cukes to deal with, it seems more than a little ludricrous to be making candy right now. Not to mention that standing over a pot of boiling sugar in the height of summer is not what everyone would choose to do. Then again, I’m known for my less-than-conventional decisions, not to mention my ludicrousness (ludicrosity?). And sometimes a girl just needs bacon. And candy. Or bacon candy. I know what you’re thinking; bacon […]